


The Best Possible Outcome from Running Out of Coffee at Home

by SEMercury



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern: No Powers, Coffee Shops, F/M, Fluff, i've never seen an episode of this show. i have immunity lol, no one's allowed to tell me that they're ooc
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-15
Updated: 2020-11-15
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:03:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,978
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27581761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SEMercury/pseuds/SEMercury
Summary: Tien runs out of coffee grounds. In a pinch, he stops at the coffee shop near his house so he can get his caffeine fix. What he doesn't expect, is to keep coming back day after day so he can chat with a certain barista.
Relationships: Launch/Tenshinhan (Dragon Ball)
Comments: 15
Kudos: 7





	The Best Possible Outcome from Running Out of Coffee at Home

**Author's Note:**

  * For [EdibleNonsense](https://archiveofourown.org/users/EdibleNonsense/gifts).



> Happy birthday to my darling and dear friend, Elizabeth!!! I love you so so much and I'm beyond delighted that you were born and that you're in my life! I hope this makes you smile! You deserve some happy fluff on this day of all days! All the uwus for youwus. And as always, feel free to take this au and do more with it! Goodness knows you know these dorks better than I do!

Tien shakes the coffee tin, frowning at the gentle clang of the scoop hitting metal. He’s out of coffee grounds. He knew he was out of them yesterday, and he made a mental note to go buy more, but he supposes this is his punishment for not writing a physical note to remind himself. Discipline and all of that.

There’s a coffee shop he passes on his way to work every day, a small hole-in-the-wall type of place. Tien’s never set foot in there, and has never had the desire to, but he figures anything beats office coffee, and spending a little extra on a caffeine fix wins over nothing at all.

He’s going to be late though. He didn’t allot time for this when he woke up.

The shop is larger than he expects when he walks in. There’s an open doorway to a kitchen area behind a few large tables as well as a roaring fireplace on the left wall. Several mismatched chairs sit at the tiny café tables that litter the floor. The counter is stacked with cups and signs about pastries and other goodies.

He walks up to the register and glances at the menu, already knowing what he’ll get, but wanting something to focus his eyes on. For a moment he stands there, nearly getting impatient as he waits, surprised that it can be this busy and no one is manning the front.

“Oh!” A young woman’s head pops up from below, her wild, blue hair sticking up in odd ways from the humidity from the steamers. “Sorry, I was just—Give me a minute, please!” She hauls up a very large bag of coffee beans onto the counter with a huff and begins scooping more into the now empty grinder. “I don’t know where—” The woman continues talking as the grinder whirs to life, and Tien can’t understand a word.

“Pardon?” he asks once there is silence again.

“Did you want a mocha?”

Tien blinks a few times, confused as to how she arrived at that question. “No thank you,” he says. “Just a large black coffee, please.”

The woman begins pouring a cup of coffee for him. “Cream and sugar?”

“No, just the black coffee, please.”

She pauses for a moment and regards him with a stare that borders on shocked. “You don’t want any sugar?”

He stares at her with an equally confused expression. “No thank you.”

“Why?” she asks.

Tien has never thought about it before. He has just always had black coffee. It’s something he has always taken for granted. “I just don’t want it,” he finally says.

“Oh,” she whispers, looking almost crestfallen.

He stares at her for a moment, puzzled. “Why do you want me to have some so badly?” he asks, doing his best not to glance at the clock. He’s going to be late for sure. Why is he making small talk?

“It’s warmer that way.”

His brows furrow. “I don’t see how adding sugar affects temperature.”

“Not literally, I suppose,” she says with a giggle. “It just feels more soothing that way. It’s more inviting.”

Tien doesn’t know what being inviting has to do with getting his morning caffeine boost. “Maybe I’ll try it sometime.”

The woman’s face lights up. “I think it would be good for you,” she says.

He doesn’t know what she means, and he doesn’t ask—he simply pays for the coffee.

“Have a great day, sir!” she says cheerfully, and while he doesn’t normally think anyone ever says that in customer service jobs except out of obligation, he gets the feeling she means it.

“Tien,” he tells her, not sure where the desire to tell her his name came from. “My name is Tien.”

She smiles, big, blue eyes sparkling. “My name is Launch, and it’s a pleasure to meet you, Tien. I hope I’ll get to see you again sometime soon!”

He nods, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips, and waves as he leaves, knowing he is going to be late for work.

The next day, Tien walks back into the coffee shop, being sure to leave his house early enough to allow time for chatting. It’s honestly a thought he’s never had before, and for a moment I makes him pause. Since when is he interested in small talk? With anyone?

He shakes his head and allows the warmth of the coffee shop to draw him in. The fire in the fireplace seems warmer today, but perhaps it is just because it is cooler outside. He spots the familiar blue hair behind the counter and smiles.

“Good morning, Tien!” she says excitedly, clasping her hands together in front of her heart.

“Good morning, Launch,” he says, wondering why he is so happy to hear his name.

“Did you want another black coffee today?” Launch asks, already grabbing a cup.

Tien shakes his head. “I think I want to try that drink you mentioned yesterday.”

“Oh! A mocha?”

He nods, and she smiles.

“I really think you’ll like it,” Launch says, preparing the espresso shots. “It’s basically a chocolate latte—very warm and cozy!” She steams the milk and grabs the sauce before looking back at him. “And you seem like the kind of person who would like chocolate.”

Tien doesn’t know what that means or how he gives off those vibes, but he can’t say that she’s wrong either. He rarely buys chocolate, but whenever he does, he savors every bite.

“Tell me what you think!” she says, handing him the cup after putting a generous amount of whipped cream on before the lid.

He takes a sip and nods. “It’s very good,” he replies softly. It’s sweet, but the sweetness doesn’t overwhelm him like he had feared it would. Perhaps black coffees are a thing of the past now.

Launch bounces up and down, clapping her hands together as she grins. “I’m so glad! I was hoping you’d come back soon and try something else!”

Tien feels a jolt of something in his chest at her words and ignores it. “I’m glad I did.”

She beams up at him as he hands her the money for the drink. Launch hands him his change and glances down at the growing line of people. “Oh dear,” she says. “I’d love to talk more, but it looks like we’re getting busy.”

“I understand,” he says, knowing all too well how overwhelming crowds can be. And he assumes crowds of people who haven’t had coffee yet are all the more overwhelming. “Perhaps another time.”

Her eyes widen in delight. “Oh, that would be wonderful! Um, the next time I work is Saturday, if you’d want to come in? I’m sure you have somewhere to be right now anyway. But we have more people working on Saturdays, so I’d be able to talk more hopefully!”

He will have to find a way to get coffee tomorrow, or just buy more grounds, but the idea of being able to sit and talk with her makes him feel light. “I’ll see you Saturday, then.”

She giggles and waves, and Tien thinks he just imagined the extra pink glow on her cheeks.

Tien spends a considerable amount of time looking at his wardrobe on Saturday morning. Should he wear jeans and be casual, or should he continue in his more formal attire he wears to work? The blue shirt or the green shirt? Why is he worried about this at all?

He shakes his head and grabs whatever is closest in his reach. As he walks to the coffee shop, he wonders again why he was so concerned with it. He also tries to stifle the butterflies in his stomach. _It’s just from what I ate for dinner last night_ , he tells himself.

He can’t help but smile as he walks in, already searching for that familiar face. Launch is nowhere to be seen, and his heart falls a fraction at the thought. Did she call off work today?

Tien walks up to the counter. “Excuse me,” he asks the woman standing there, looking rather annoyed at everything, “is Launch working today? I was supposed to meet her, and—”

“I’m Launch,” she says with a huff, placing her hands roughly on her hips. “What do you want?”

He stares at her for a moment—her wild, blonde hair and striking green eyes. This is not Launch. “I apologize,” he says. “I didn’t realize there were two people who worked here with the same name. She was working on Thursday. Do you know if—”

“There’s only one of me,” she growls, causing one of her coworkers to look over with concern.

“Oh,” Tien says, not really sure what else to say.

“Dammit, I hate when she does this!” The woman—Launch—slams her fist on the counter. “We’re the same person, alright? Sorry to disappoint. What kind of coffee do you want? Or you can just leave.”

“I’m not disappointed,” he says. “Just a little confused.”

“Yeah, you and everyone else. Did you want coffee or not?”

“I’ll take a mocha, please.”

“For here or to go?”

“For here,” he says, apparently surprising both Launch and himself.

“You know we’re not the same, right?” she asks, eyebrow twitching. “I mean, we’re the same person, but we’re not the same. She’s not gonna come out of the back or anything and talk about nothing with you, so if you’re waiting for her, you might as well—”

“I’d like to stay,” Tien says. “I was hoping to talk with Launch, and you’re Launch, aren’t you?” He smiles and hands her money for the coffee. “I’d like to get to know you.”

He doesn’t miss the blush that spreads across her face. “Fine,” she grumbles, taking the money from him. “Have a seat, and I’ll bring it to you.”

Tien nods and finds an open spot near the fire, glad to have the warmth. The wind outside is cold today, and in his rush to find an outfit for the day, he forgot to grab his jacket. He smiles to himself—he hadn’t needed to worry so much on dressing to impress after all.

Launch brings the mug and sets it down in front of him, the ceramic making a harsh _clink_ against the table. “So what did you want to know?” she asks, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

“What kind of coffee do you like?”

She squints at him cautiously, shoulders remaining stiff and guarded. “You’re not gonna ask what’s up with us? Why we’re like this?”

“That hardly seems appropriate for a first conversation,” he says gently. “I assume it’s a rather personal matter.”

The pink in her cheeks makes a reappearance and her arms relax ever so slightly. “It really is,” she mumbles.

He smiles softly at her. “Which is why I wanted to start with something more casual. She told me that she likes a lot of sugar in her coffee, do you?”

Her blush deepens, and she looks to the ground. “We both like our coffee sweet,” she whispers. “But she puts entirely too much whipped cream on.”

Tien chuckles, and Launch eyes him. “There was a lot of whipped cream on my coffee last time,” he says.

She nods absentmindedly, arms slowly uncrossing. “What about you, what do you like?”

“Well, I think I like this,” he says, taking a sip of his mocha. “Until this week, I had only ever had black coffee.”

“That’s boring,” she says, snorting a bit with laughter. Her eyes go wide and she holds her hands out in front of her apologetically. “Not that I think you’re boring. Not that I think you’re interesting either, I just—”

“No, I get it. Black coffee was fairly boring.” He takes another sip of the mocha, savoring the sweet flavor. “What about this job?” he asks, hoping changing the subject will alleviate the embarrassed expression she has. “What made you decide to work here?”

“Blue got the job,” she says. “She wanted to keep us out of trouble. We had been…” Launch flashes him a wry smile. “Well, you’re going to have to get to know us better to hear the end of that one.”

“I look forward to hearing it one day, then.”

She gawks at him for a moment before shaking her head, the bright red blush returning full force. “I should get back to work,” she mumbles before leaving.

Tien sips the rest of his coffee slowly, enjoying the atmosphere and enjoying even more the moments where Launch returns to say a few words. He learns that she rides a motorcycle, has an affinity for firearms, and is surprisingly good with kids. He in turn tells her of his martial arts training, the time he spent a month on a mountain, and lets her know that there’s parts of his past he’s not ready to share either.

But he fully intends to share them with her one day.

Bright and early on Monday morning, Tien gets ready for work and leaves with enough time to spend several minutes at the coffee shop. It’s almost become part of his routine at this point. Or perhaps he had been too excited to sleep, and that was what woke him up early. He doesn’t think about it too hard.

He walks into the coffee shop and sees Launch—blue hair this time—wiping down the counter with a peaceful expression on her face. They don’t appear to be very busy today, and he’s happy to see her looking more relaxed than the first few times.

“Good morning,” he says.

Launch startles a bit at the sound of his voice. Her eyebrows immediately fly up under her curls in worry. “Good morning,” she replies, twisting the rag in her hands. “Would you like another mocha today?”

“Yes, please.”

He watches as she makes the drink, eyes downcast as she pours the steamed milk and chocolate sauce in. Tien can’t help but smile when he watches her put a large amount of whipped cream on before placing the lid on top. She hands it to him, still avoiding his gaze.

Before he can ask if something is wrong, she asks in a quiet voice, “Did you come in on Saturday?”

Tien nods.

Launch covers her face with her hands. “Oh dear, I’m so sorry! I hope she wasn’t too rude to you. I’m very sorry about that, and I understand if you never want to—”

“I had a nice time,” he tells her.

Her blue eyes snap open and widen. She blinks several times before finally looking directly at him. “You did?”

“I did,” he says with a smile.

Launch’s mouth twitches into a hesitant, almost disbelieving, smile. “I’m really glad to hear that,” she whispers, sounding relieved as she does so.

“And I look forward to getting to know you better,” he says, taking a sip of his drink. “Both of you.”

She smiles sweetly at him. “I would like that very much.”

Tien returns the smile and waves. “I’ll see you around, then.”

Tien has made up his mind as he walks to the coffee shop the next Saturday. He had gone every day that week and chatted with Launch, sometimes Blue, sometimes Blonde. Tien knows what he wants to do at this point, and it’s making his hands shake.

He walks in and orders his coffee from the person behind the counter, as Launch seemed to be busy in the back. Tien sits down at his usual seat near the fire—he’s been here enough to consider this his usual seat, he realizes—and waits. He smiles as Launch brings him his coffee, tucking a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear.

“You ever gonna get tired of drinking mochas?” she asks, setting the cup down gently.

“I don’t think so,” he replies with a chuckle. “I had the same drink for my whole life. I’ve got the rest of my life to outgrow this one.”

Launch laughs. “Well, if you ever want to try something else, let me know. I’ve got some suggestions for you.”

“We should discuss that sometime,” he says. “Maybe somewhere else.”

She groans and rolls her eyes. “ _Please_ do not tell me you’re asking me to meet up for coffee. We do that every day here, and I’m not going to shell out some extra bucks when I can just get some here for free. I mean, we talk every day as it is, we can just discuss—”

“I was thinking more like dinner.”

Launch stops mid-sentence, mouth still agape, and stares at him. “You can’t be serious,” she says, a blush starting at her neck and steadily moving up her face.

“I am,” he replies, feeling his own face grow warm as well.

“But you must be only asking Blue out, right? I mean who would want—”

“No, I’m asking you both out,” he says. “I like you. As a whole. No matter who you are.”

She smiles softly, briefly, before returning to her normal smirk. “Well, you’re paying.”

“Of course. A gentleman would do no less.”

“Yeah, yeah, you’re so kind and great and generous and all that shit.”

Tien cracks a grin. “Tell me what you really think,” he says cheekily.

Launch crosses her arms and looks at him with a smug expression. “Thought I just did.”

“Does tonight work for you then?”

“I’ll put it on our calendar. Meet one of us here at six. Don’t be late.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

Tien finishes his drink and goes home to agonize over clothing choices again. And restaurant ideas. And menu choices. And should he bring flowers? He should bring flowers.

He still hasn’t bought more coffee grounds for his house. And that this point, he doesn’t think he’s going to.


End file.
